INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbsp avocado oil3 Tbsp butter + 1 Tbsp for tossing the pasta (sub ghee or vegan butter)
½ cup onion, chopped
⅔ cup celery, chopped
⅔ cup carrot, chopped
¾lb ground beef chuck
JF Universalt Salt, to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1 cup whole milk (sub almond milk)
⅛ tsp nutmeg, grated
1 cup dry white wine
1½ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped in the liquid
1¼ -1½lb pasta (sub grain-free pasta)
Parmesan cheese, grated (sub plant-based cheese)
PROCESS:
Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color. Add the milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add the grated nutmeg and stir. Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time.
While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add ½ cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt. Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
Recipe adapted from NYT Cooking